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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. present — there
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fine — all right
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — a video
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. row — a line
  17. mark — a trace
  18. row — to paddle
  19. clip — for paper
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com